Interview

At Long Last...Egypt '78Order Now

Good things come to those who wait! First, it took 30 years to produce this ultra-cool 2CD/DVD set from the Dead’s legendary September 1978 run at the Sound & Light Theater, outside Cairo, nestled in the dunes just a short mummy-walk from the Great Pyramid and the mysterious Sphinx. Then, Dead Heads had to endure the long, restless weeks between the announcement of the release and when they could actually order it. Well, ring them bells, because the wait is over! Dead.net is NOW accepting orders for this beautiful and historic package, Rocking the Cradle: Grateful Dead, Egypt 1978, which includes two exceptional music CDs and a DVD with over 95 minutes of concert footage from the Egypt shows (plus an impressionistic “Vacation Tapes” mini-documentary that shows the band and Dead family at play).

Much has been written about this storied adventure: About the band’s long-standing desire to play in “places of power,” as Phil put it years ago… The incredible logistical gymnastics necessary to get permission for this strangest of American rock bands to bring their peculiar alchemy to the cradle of the ancient world… The huge, scattered caravan of crazies that descended on Cairo from the U.S. and Europe, drawn to the desert by some irresistible force… The sheer magnitude of shipping in tons of sound equipment, setting up in 110-degree heat, maxing out the local power grid, trying to turn the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid into an echo chamber (alas, Osiris would have none of that!)… The wondrous interplay at each of the three concerts between Nubian drummers and singers and the Grateful Dead… The miraculous final show, during a total lunar eclipse… The synchronicity of that last show and the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel… Magical horse and camel rides under the desert moon…Trips up and down the Nile… High adventure at every turn!

The three Egypt concerts—September 14, 15, 16, 1978—were captured on a 24-track tape recorder with an eye towards putting out a live album to help defray the (considerable) cost of the expedition. When the Dead got home, however, they discovered that the tapes of all of the first night and part of the second were not useable because of technical problems. Then the band got wrapped up in finishing their Shakedown Street album (begun before the Egypt venture), and soon the notion of putting out the Egypt album lost its momentum. But just as Howard Carter and all those other explorers in the ’20s and ’30s couldn’t stay away from the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the Dead weren’t about to let those Egypt multitracks stay buried by the sands of time. Next thing you know there’s a phone call to ace GD mixer Jeffrey Norman and he and vaultkeeper David Lemieux discover that despite the problems with the first night’s tapes, there’s still lots of great material available from nights two and three, including: a dynamite “Shakedown Street” (just the second live version ever), “Truckin’,” an exquisite “Stella Blue,” “Eyes of the World,” fresh takes on then-new songs such as “Stagger Lee” and “I Need A Miracle,” and the hypnotic Egyptian tune called “Ollin Arageed” that features Hamza El Din and other percussionists, who are then joined by the Dead for a jam into “Fire on the Mountain.” Wow!

And the concert video, though rough around the edges in places, is quite a revelation as well. Not only does the DVD include many of the best tunes on the CDs—you’ll dig seeing Jerry do some pretty energetic thrashing here and there—it contains two songs not on disc—“Bertha” and “Good Lovin’.” The concert material has been mixed in both stereo and surround sound, with two listening options: DTS 5.1 and PCM Stereo. The beautifully designed booklet (with cover inspired by the late, great Alton Kelley’s Egypt 1978 tour poster) contains a revealing essay by longtime Ice Nine Publishing chief (and Egypt trip co-organizer) Alan Trist, and many rare photos. All that’s missing is sand, the smell of camels and some “hubbly-bubbly”!

It must be the Curse of the Pharaoh’s Tomb or something, because once we’d put together Rocking the Cradle: Grateful Dead, Egypt ’78, we couldn’t get Egypt out of our system. Suddenly it seemed only natural that the next Road Trips should be culled from the great five-night “From Egypt With Love” run the Dead played at Winterland a month after they returned from Cairo. Each night the band treated the hometown fans to an extensive slide show of their travels, and at two of the concerts, Hamza El Din joined the Dead for versions of “Ollin Arageed” that helped summon even more of the flavor of Egypt. Harmonica ace Lee Oskar (of War) showed up a couple of nights, and at the final show, John Cipollina added his distinctive guitar to the back half of the second set. The two-CD Road Trips set is drawn from the final two shows of the series, October 11 and 22, 1978. Get complete order information Here.

Got a order shipped mail today ... hopefully the package will be here within ten days ... :-)

MarkintheDark: Yep, that's right!

This time aorund though, "thanks" to the last week economic crises, the final price has dropped an "inch" ... the amount being debited is 414,14 SEK. That's nice even though I would have been charged less than 400 SEK on August 26th.

One USD is currently 6,56 SEK. Yesterday I would have been charged about 410 SEK.

My credit card was billed on the 18th, and I received an email on the 16th saying my order had been shipped. But alas, no tunes! Can they somehow ship a package but specify that it not be delivered until the 30th (hope not...)?

your preorder is in and will ship around the 30th, as expected. Credit card won't be charged until discs ship, and whatever the exchange rate is that day is what it is, unfortunately for your immediate situation. I mention all this in public because others may be in a similar situation. Thanks!

In my oponion they should send all foreign orders (overseas that is) a couple of days or a week in advance, so we could all boogie to the sound of The Dead at the Cradle of Civilization, ahead of all the folks who don't have had the good taste to preorder the package through here. How about that?? =)

You're just making the waiting that bit harder, Blair. Good to hear that the sound quality is so good - some folks had doubted that it would sound really good, and probably not without reasonable cause.

OK, I suppose I might not be viewed as the most impartial critic here, what with my ongoing involvement with both this site and various releases, but people who know me know I'm a straight-shooter (if an enthusiastic one) and not above the occasional scathing criticism of something.

Anyway, long story short, I just got my (I guess, advance) copy of this Egypt set (I'd only heard SBD versions previously, nothing from the multitracks) and I gotta say, I'm pretty BLOWN AWAY! The sound quality is incredibly crisp and clear and present--man, it's so great to hear Bob playing such a pristine tone on his guitar throughout. I knew that Disc Two would be a winner, what with that snakey/spacey "Shakedown," the Ollin"> Fire" and the peppy (especially for that era) "Iko," but it's the first disc that really surprised me. You look at the set list and think, "Eh...decent. Nothing special." But the playing is extraordinary! Wait till you hear Jer's vocals on "Stagger Lee" and "Deal," or the beautifully rendered "Look Like Rain" (with a totally cool ending thing by Jerry and Keith that's unique!) and the dynamite combo of "I Need A Miracle" > "All Over Now"! Good stuff.

Anyway, if anyone out there is waffling, this is one picky Dead Head who digs this release Big Time! We can wonder till the end of time why they didn't play "Dark Star" or this tune or that tune in Egypt, but what is here is damn good! Just my .02. (BTW, I had nothing to do with this release. It was a Lemieux/Jeffrey Norman deal all the way, and they both did a great job. You won't find many better-sounding releases than this.)

If I hadn't looked up on the current rate, I guess my order would have been invalid since I only would have 413 SEK instead of the current 423 SEK to go through with the buy. That's my main concern, not that the package has become more "expensive" since August 26th.

they don't charge your account till they ship, I'm pretty sure, as that's what I've been told. I don't think we can do much about the exchange rate issue, but you raise a valid point and I'll pass it on.

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